Syndication Falls Into Post-Sweep Depression

The combination of widespread repeats and sports preemptions results in very few weekly gains for the vast majority of first run in the frame ending June 3.

The first week following the May sweep was a challenging one for syndication as many shows went into repeats in the session that began with Memorial Day and ended on June 3.

In addition, some programs were preempted by coverage of French Open tennis and Stanley Cup hockey.

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For example, Dr. Phil went into reruns for the entire week and slipped 13% from the prior frame to a 2.8 live-plus-same-day national Nielsen rating. However, the show was still 4% ahead of last year at this time and had no trouble leading the talkers for the 91st week in a row.

Live with Kelly and Ryan snared second place in talk holding steady at a 2.2, while growing 5% from last year. And Ellen DeGeneres dropped 10% to a third-place 1.9.

Among magazines, Entertainment Tonight eased 6% to a 2.9, tying Inside Edition, which was down 3% for the category lead.

In game show action, Family Feud fell 2% to a 6.2, but still topped the 5.6 for both Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, which declined 3% and 2%, respectively.

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Judge Judy, which was partially in repeats, remained syndication’s highest-rated program overall for the 15th straight week, dipping 4% to a 6.8, but still climbing 10% from last year, the highest annual improvement of any daytime show.

The week’s top-rated daytime talk shows in the women 25-54 demo were:

Dr. Phil (1.1, -15% from the week before)

Live with Kellyand Ryan (1.0, unchanged)

EllenDeGeneres (0.9, -10%)

Maury (0.8, unchanged), tied with Wendy Williams (0.8, unchanged)

In the household rating rankings that follow, % change is from the previous week; * indicates a new season-high rating; ** indicates a new season low; NC indicates no change from the previous week; NA mean not applicable.

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